Grandmother Gong Doyeon, Who Practiced Neighborly Love for 50 Years... Donated Her Body for Science on Her Final Journey

Passed Away Last September After 50 Years of Volunteer Service
Donated Body for Anatomical Research as Final Act of Service

"Because our house is right in the middle of the village, I can see people in need or the sick getting out of cars from all directions, but I feel so heartbroken that I cannot take care of everyone individually." (From a volunteer diary entry dated November 12, 2002)

Grandmother Gong Doyeon from Ugok-myeon, Uiryeong, who was known as the 'Volunteer Queen' in her community for a lifetime of wholehearted love and service to her neighbors, made her 'final act of volunteering' by donating her body for medical research.

Grandmother Gong was called the "Service King" for her dedication to practicing neighborly love for about 50 years from her 30s until just before her passing.
[Photo by Uiryeong-gun, Gyeongnam]

On the 20th, Uiryeong County announced that Grandmother Gong Doyeon passed away from old age on September 13 of this year. Since her children held the funeral in Changwon, where they live, the news of her passing was reported late.

Grandmother Gong was called the 'Volunteer Queen' for dedicating about 50 years from her 30s until her death to practicing neighborly love. She received more than 60 awards and commendations related to her service from the era of former President Park Chung-hee until shortly before her passing. In 2020, she was awarded the Order of Civil Merit, Pomegranate Medal, for her social contributions and exemplary senior citizen status.

Wishing to live a life of giving until the very end, she expressed her desire to donate her organs after death, and her children honored her wishes by sending her body to the College of Medicine at Gyeongsang National University. It is known that her body will be used for anatomical research.

The body of her late husband, Mr. Park Hyojin, who passed away last year, was also donated to the same institution.

A Sentence from the 'Volunteer Diary': "Sorry I Could Not Take Care of Everyone"

Grandmother Gong has been writing a volunteer diary since 1999. In her diary, she wrote, "Because I have lived in poverty, I wanted to take care of people who are poor."
[Photo by Uiryeong-gun, Gyeongnam]

Grandmother Gong had been writing a volunteer diary since 1999. In her diary, she reflected on her life with the words, "Having lived in poverty, I wanted to take care of those who are poor, and I believed that we must unite in difficult times, which made me want to work harder and volunteer more."

Starting married life at 17 in a tent house, Grandmother Gong lived struggling with poverty to the extent that she had to worry about her next meal. To escape that poverty, she worked diligently.

For over ten years, she worked in others' fields and sold bundles during the day, and knitted and sold her work at night. With the money she carefully saved, she ran a small grocery store and purchased a thousand-pyeong rice field to start rice farming.

When her family’s financial situation improved in her 30s, Grandmother Gong began active social work and neighborly volunteer activities.

Grandmother Gong was known as the "Service Queen" for her dedication to practicing neighborly love for about 50 years, from her 30s until just before her passing. She received more than 60 related awards and medals from the era of former President Park Chung-hee until shortly before her death.
[Photo by Uiryeong-gun, Gyeongnam]

Grandmother Gong wrote in her diary, "Those who have never experienced poverty cannot understand the pain and trials of being poor. As the saying goes, 'Where there is a will, there is a way.' If you have a strong determination to live well, I believe there will definitely be a way. I want to help so that my neighbors do not feel the sorrow of being without."

In the early 1970s, as the head of the Saemaul Women’s Association, she encouraged village residents to increase income through off-season agricultural projects and helped neighbors in need. In gratitude, the villagers erected a 'Mother of Love' statue at Songsan Elementary School in 1976.

In 1985, concerned about the inconvenience caused by the lack of medical facilities, she purchased a 225㎡ plot of land and donated it to Uiryeong County, playing a decisive role in establishing the Songsan Health Clinic.

Grandmother Gong not only made material donations but also devoted her time to volunteer activities. Especially, based on her life principle that she must not leave a polluted world to future generations, she took the lead in neighborhood environmental cleanup efforts. She also served as head of various social organizations, including the Saemaul Women’s Association, gathering local women to teach them Hangul and how to ride bicycles?stories well known in the community.

Moreover, for the past 50 years, she consistently provided scholarships to students from poor families, donated money to help disadvantaged neighbors, and contributed rice and other goods to various organizations every year without fail.

Whenever she encountered homeless people or beggars on the street or heard that a neighbor was living in hardship, she hurriedly prepared pocket money and homegrown produce to help those around her. A few years ago, despite her small 35kg frame, she pulled a handcart selling wild greens and donated the money she earned from collecting scrap.

Her eldest daughter, Park Eun-sook (61), said, "Volunteering was my mother’s joy in life," and added, "After the anatomical research is completed, we want to bring her back to the family burial ground and pay our respects."

Upon hearing the news of her passing, residents expressed their condolences, saying, "A true angel has gone to heaven," and "She was a genuine elder who did great things until the very end."

In the diary left by Grandmother Gong, she wrote, "Those who have never experienced poverty cannot understand the pain and trials of being poor. As the saying goes, 'Where there is a will, there is a way.' If you have a strong determination to live well, I believe there will definitely be a way. I want to help so that my neighbors do not feel the sorrow of being without." This was the reason she devoted her life to volunteering and her lifelong belief.